The
Butter Tree: Tales of Bruh Rabbit

(New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1995. ISBN 0-8050-2673-8)

Fooled you! Bruh Rabbit is always playing tricks. He tricks Bruh Bear out of
bed and eats his fish. He tricks Bruh Wolf out of the butter from his butter
tree—then he proves that it was Wolf who ate it. He even serves oven-fried wolf
to his children. But sometimes Bruh Rabbit gets fooled too.

Retelling six authentic Bruh Rabbit stories that were recorded in Beaufort
County and Murrells Inlet in South Carolina, author Mary Lyons has captured
their madcap spirit. She uses simple, strong words that allow first readers to
make their own way through Bruh Rabbit’s (mis)adventures. Mirelle Vautier’s
explosion of primary colors and her sly, knowing Rabbit add a second smile to
every story.

OH,
BROTHER!

Bruh is a short way of saying Brother. Other ways are: Buh, Bruddah,
and Brer. Stories in The Butter Tree are short and easy to
read. For longer Brer Rabbit stories, see The Tales of Uncle Remus: The
Adventures of Brer Rabbit by Julius Lester, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney.

TALE OF A
TAIL

Folk
tales often explain how animals got their tails, but rabbits have no tails.
Why not? For the answer, read “Bruh Wolf Fools Bruh Rabbit” in The Butter
Tree.

TELL IT
LIKE IT IS OR ISN’T

Bruh
Rabbit stories come from Africa, where tales often have an
open ending. Then listeners talk about the best way to end the story.
"What is
fair?" they ask each other. "What is honest?" Talking about the end
of the story helps people learn how to get along with
each other.

The last story in The Butter Tree is “Bruh Rabbit
and Bruh Guinea Fowl.” Read the tale with someone else and decide how it should
end. Should Rabbit find the meat first? Or Guinea Fowl? Do either one deserve
the meat?